Soft nose cap-firing bullet



Oct. 23, 1962 1. WYILDSTEIN SOFT NOSE CAP-FIRING BULLET Filed July 25,1960 INVENTOR. MV/A/G V/LDJTf/IV W Z g 3,059,376 SOFT NOSE CAP-FIRINGBULLET Irving Wildstein, 548 Green Place, Woodmere, N.Y. Filed July 25,1960, Ser. No. 45,165 6 Claims. (Cl. 46-200) This invention relates totoys and, more particularly, to simulated explosive projectiles.

Various types of toy guns, rockets, projectiles, and the like, haveusually been extremely popular as toys for children of all age groups.It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide asimulated explosive projectile which can be realistically used with toylaunchers, guns, and the like, to produce a safe and extremely realisticeifect.

Another object ofthe present invention is to provide simulatedammunition for toy guns having self-contained explosive charge in theform of a percussion cap which will be detonated upon strikingengagement of the projectile with an object during flight.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an explosivetype projectile which can be reloaded after each use, and whichcompletely encloses such charge so as to prevent accidental injury uponstriking any object.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a simulatedexplosive projectile of the type described having self-contained motionresponsive directional means for maintaining the projectile insubstantially axial flight, and which further-serves as a repercussiondevice for assuring detonation of the explosive charge upon strikinganother object.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide simulatedammunition of the above type which can be manufactured at a relativelylow cost, and is extremely realistic in appearance and use, and whichhas a blunt nose so as to be readily deformable upon striking anyobject, thereby minimizing any damage or injury resulting from theflight of such projectile.

All of the foregoing and still further objects and advantages of thisinvention will become apparent from a study of the followingspecification, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing,wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a simulated pro jectile made inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary longitudinal cross-sectional view of theassembly shown in FlG/l ready for use.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the simulated cartridge case forming apart of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the assembly shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view, with parts broken away, of a simulatedprojectile portion forming another part of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a transverse cross-sectional view taken along line 6-6 of FIG.5.

Referring now to the drawing, a toy 10 made in accordance with thepresent invention is shown to be in the form of a projectile having asimulated shell case or base 12 and a simulated projectile or nose 30.The base 12, as is more clearly shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4, is hollow,having an interior compartment 14 open at the rear end and having an endwall 16 at the forward end. An extension 18, integral with the forwardend wall 16, projects longitudinally outwardly symmetrically withrespect to the longitudinal axis of the base for purposes hereinaftermore fully described.

The end wall 16 is further provided with a plurality of ports 20-communicating with the interior 14 of the base and the interior of theextension 18. A sleeve 22, 'also integral with the end wall 1-6, dependsinto the interior 14 of the base 12 and has an axial bore 24 thatslidably re- United States Patent 0 3,059,376 Patented Oct. 23, 1962"ice ceives the cylindrical plunger 26 of a hammer member. The forwardend of the plunger 26 is provided with a striker plate 28 ofsubstantially disc-like construction.

The nose 30 of the present invention includes a plurality of flexibleskeletal arms 31 that define enlarged window openings 32 adjacent to theforward end. Since at least the nose 30 of the assembly is preferablyconstructed from a soft pliable material, such as molded polyethylene,the relatively thin arms 31 weakened by the windows 32, are readilydeformable inwardly of the nose upon striking any object in the path offlight of the projectile. This deformability of the nose 30 thusminimizes any potential damage or injury which the projectile mightotherwise cause upon striking an object during the flight.

The interior of the hollow nose 30 is further provided with a pluralityof radially inwardly extending ribs 34 which extend inwardly from therearward end of the nose at least partly toward the opposite forward endof the nose. The innermost end of each such rib 34 defines a shoulder 36which efiectively locks a metallic plate 38 within the nose as shown inFIG. 2, in a position extending normal to the longitudinal axis of theassembly. This plate 38 thus forms an anvil for striking engagement bythe striker plate 28 of the hammer that is slidably mounted within thebase 12 of the assembly. This facing surfaces of the anvil plate 38 andthe hammer plate 28 are complementary so as to assure full face strikingengagement of the hammer plate during forward movement into contact withthe facing surface of the striker plate 28. As a result, a percussioncap 42, mounted upon the facing side of the anvil plate 38 by the facingend of the extension 18 of the forward end wall 16 of the base, willdetonate upon impact by the striker plate.

A repercussion member 40, in the form of a spherical metallic ball, isconfined within the nose 30 of the assembly by the skeletal arms 31 andthe anvil plate 38, the diameter of the ball 40 being at least slightlylarger than the maximum dimension of the window openings 32, thusmaintaining such repercussion member captive during use of the assembly.This repercussion member 40 has at least two functions; namely, to moveforwardly into axial alignment with the longitudinal axis of theassembly during flight of the projectile, under the guidance of theskeletal arms 31, and to rebound rearwardly into striking engagementwith the anvil plate 38 upon striking an object during flight. Therebound of the repercussion member 40* thus tends to insure thedetonation of the cap 42 in the event that the forward movement of thestriker plate 28 is not suflicient to detonate it upon first strikingthe object in flight. With the striker plate 28 disposed forwardlyagainst the non-detonated cap 42, it serves as a backing plate forproducing a second impact blow upon the percussion cap during therebounding striking engagement of, the repercussion member 40' upon theforward face of the anvil plate 38.

Except for the striker plate 28, anvil plate 38, and repercussion member40, which are preferably constructed from hard metal material, theremaining parts of the present invention are preferably constructed froma low cost, light weight, and easily fabricated plastic material, thusminimizing the cost of the finished product and providing for anextremely authentic and attractive assembly. While the facing sides ofthe striker plate 28 and anvil plate 38 may be fiat as shown, such mayalso be convex, concave, and the like, providing that such surfaces arecomplementary to assure full force distribution to the percussion cap 42mounted therebetween. Similarly, the repercussion member 40 may be of adifferent size and shape than the spherical shape illustrated, so longas it is guided into impact engagement with the center of the forwardlyfacing side of the anvil plate 38.

In actual use, the nose 30 is removed from the mounting extension 18 ofthe base 12 and a percussion cap 42 placed upon the outermost end of theextension 18. By then returning the nose 30 into frictional slidingengagement upon the extension 28, the percussion cap 42 may be securedin place by the pressure engagement of the marginal surface area of theanvil plate 38 and the facing end surface of the extension 18. 1Therefore, when the object in the flight suddenly strikes an object, theinitially rearwardly disposed striker plate 28 will be thrust forward byinertia under the guiding action of the plunger 26 and sleeve 22, intostriking engagement with the percussion cap 42 that is backed up by theanvil plate 38. Immediately following the initial impact of the assemblywith an object, the repercussion member 40 will rebound into strikingengagement with the central portion of the forwardly facing side of theanvil plate 38, thus striking an additional impact blow through theanvil plate to the percussion cap 42, to detonate it in the event thatthe initial forward movement of the striker plate 28 has not beeneffective. After each use, a new percussion cap may be inserted simplyby removing and replacing the nose portion 30' in the manner described.

While this device has been shown in the form of ammunition for a toygun, it will be appreciated that such may also be in the form of asimulated missile, rocket, or the like, in which event the repercussionmember 4-0 will tend to insure the proper axial flight of the assemblyduring use in an extremely realistic and authentic manner.

While this invention has been described with particular reference to theconstruction shown in the drawing, it is to be understood that such isnot to be construed as imparting limitations upon the invention, whichis best defined by the claims appended hereto.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent:

1. Simulated ammunition comprising, in combination, an assemblyincluding a simulated shell case and a simulated projectile detachablymounted upon one forward end of said case, an anvil carried by saidprojectile, an impact hammer slidably carried by said case rearwardly ofsaid anvil for movement normal to said anvil, and percussion capmounting means between said hammer and said anvil, said hammer normallybeing in spaced relationship with said anvil and being carried forwardlyby inertia into striking engagement with said anvil in response tosudden interruption of forward movement of said assembly, and arepercussion member freely supported within said projectile forwardly ofsaid anvil for rebounding movement toward said anvil upon striking animpact surface during forward movement of said assembly, said shell casecomprising a substantially hollow member open at one rear end, a frontwall closing said forward end, and a forwardly projecting extensionintegral with said front wall, said projectile comprising a hollow basefrictionally slidably receiving said projection of said shell casetherewithin, and a skeletal blunt nose having a plurality of yieldableribs defining enlarged window openings, said rims being deformable toreduce the impact force upon striking another object.

2. Simulated ammunition as set forth in claim 1, wherein said anvilcomprises a metallic plate, said projectile including shoulders securingsaid metallic plate therewithin in substantially perpendicularrelationship with the longitudinal axis of said assembly.v

3. Simulated ammunition as set forth in claim 2, wherein said hammercomprises a plunger, a sleeve carried by said front wall of said caseslidably supporting said plunger for reciprocating longitudinal movementparallel to said longitudinal axis of said assembly, a striker platecarried by said plunger in facing engagement with said anvil, saidstriker plate and said anvil plate having complementary facing surfacesfor imparting an even striking blow to a percussion cap disposedtherebetween upon forward movement by said hammer.

4. Simulated ammunition as set forth in claim 3, wherein said front wallincludes a plurality of ports communicating with the interior of saidcase and projectile.

5. Simulated ammunition as set forth in claim I, wherein saidrepercussion member comprises a mass orientated for rearwardlongitudinal movement into impact with the forwardly facing side of saidanvil. v

6. Simulated ammunition as set forth in claim 5, Where in said masscomprises a metallic sphere.

References (Iited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

